August 7, 2000

Framed photographs adorn the office of Charles McCabe, MD, associate chief of Emergency Medicine at the MGH. Many of them are of his wife and daughter, but most are of his students, past and present — proud mementos of more than 25 years of training future physicians.

"Teaching is very rewarding," says McCabe. "I get a great deal of fulfillment in guiding someone through this profession and watching this person learn and grow."

McCabe is a surgeon by training but chose the path of emergency medicine after being diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. He essentially has been teaching at the MGH since he began his residency in general surgery in 1974. Now an associate professor in Surgery for Harvard Medical School (HMS), he focuses his energy on teaching the surgical residents who rotate into the Emergency Department as well as third-year medical students from HMS.

Working in the Emergency Department is probably one of the most eye-opening experiences residents will encounter, he says. Being on the front lines, they observe the worst of what society has to offer the medical establishment: victims of stabbings and gunfire, children brutally abused by adults, spouses beaten and psychologically wounded.

"It's not what mom and dad would want their kids learning about and seeing," says McCabe. "As a teacher, I have to be sensitive to that. I remember one student who lost a patient during a cardiac arrest. I could tell she was upset, so I took her aside to talk to her. You don't learn those kinds of things in text books." With a gentle but firm hand and armed with a sense of humor, McCabe not only helps students learn the basics of surgery and emergency medicine, he also helps them strengthen their confidence, recognize opportunities to educate themselves and find their inner ambitions to continue their rigorous training.

"I try to create an environment that is friendly and fosters learning," says McCabe. "I believe it is much easier to learn if you can take the pressure off the learning environment. They will be putting enough pressure on themselves to do their best."

When asked whether his students ever teach the teacher, McCabe replies: "I've learned a lot from my students. Mostly I've learned to be kind and understanding. They are not in a normal environment, so I need to be sympathetic to what they are going through."